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Spanish educational organization Instituto de Estudios Universitarios Amerike has announced that it would soon begin offer courses in the development of interactive software and video games at its newly opened campus in Guadalajara.

The first batch of classes is likely to be started in the first week of February. As part of learning, students will take up internships in companies, including Ubisoft, King, Digital Legends, and Gameloft.

The institute says there will be a series of workshops and seminars at the campus because it wants students to gain a lot more practical experience. In addition, the institute has exchange programs with a few Spanish universities, including the University of Barcelona.

The global market for video games is growing at 7%, while in Mexico the increase is 15%, according to the institute.

With 15 million gamers generating annual sales of US$670 million, Mexico has one of the largest video game markets in Latin America. A large majority of consumers are playing games on their smartphones, while console and PC gamers represent only 26%, according to the market research firm Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU).

Many foreign game developers, such as GameFly, are setting up shop in the country, with the federal government continuing to encourage the industry. This is largely because some educational institutes in Mexico use video games to teach complicated maths and science lessons.

One of the major players in this industry is home-grown Naranya Ventures, which offers platforms for game developers to sell their games on mobile.